History ETDs

Publication Date

8-7-1970

Abstract

Amos A. Lawrence (1814-1886) was a Boston, Massachusetts, textile tycoon, philanthropist, and humanitarian. His father, Amos Lawrence, began the Lawrence textile dynasty just after the turn of the nineteenth century. After graduating from Harvard College in 1835, his son eventually took over part of his father's holdings and also established his own cotton mills and factories. The young Lawrence did not immediately go into business, simply because it took some time for him to find his station in life. In the early 1840's his marriage to Sarah Elizabeth Appleton seemed to crystallize his attitude toward himself and his position in life. His business enlarged significantly after his marriage and he also became interested in politics. Opposing the annexation of Texas in 1837, Lawrence indicated what his ideas would be in the slavery extension controversy. He was a Cotton Whig in political affiliation but unlike most conservatives he opposed the Fugitive Slave Law and the Compromise of 1850 because they violated individual rights and were prejudicial to the North. Once it became law, Lawrence upheld its provisions by helping to return fugitive slaves. In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed and Lawrence considered it a violation of the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Since the compromise had been broken the Bostonian no longer considered it his duty to enforce the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Along with Eli Thayer, he formed the New England Emigrant Aid Company which sent emigrants into Kansas territory to make it a free state. Lawrence was the chief pecuniary source for the company, whereas Thayer was the organizer. Although the Company was not responsible for making Kansas free, it did alert the North to the dangers of slavery expansion. As part of this venture, Lawrence gave the land and money for the institution which became the University of Kansas, and the city of Lawrence is named after him. He also founded Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. He served as treasurer of Harvard College and contributed large sums of money for buildings.

Twice during the 1850's Lawrence ran for governor of Massachusetts on a conservative ticket and was defeated both times. In the crisis of 1860-1861 he tried to keep the Union together through promoting compromise but was unsuccessful. During the war he helped recruit the First Battalion of the Second Massachusetts Cavalry and the Fifty-Fourth Negro regiment and also other Black soldiers. He also helped numerous relief associations with money and time, and generally during the war gave unstintingly of himself.

Lawrence's chief contributions were during the decades of the 1850's and 1860's. His educational commitments are lasting memorials to his belief in bettering American society and to his name. He gave away two fortunes but used his money wisely and carefully. He died in 1886, but this biography includes only the period from 1814 until 1865. The post-war years are not discussed.

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Degree Name

History

Department Name

History

First Committee Member (Chair)

George Winston Smith

Second Committee Member

Harry Paul Stumpf

Third Committee Member

William Miner Dabney

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

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